Rabbi's Blog - Harford Chabad

Look at it this way - make it as permanent as a tattoo.

Thursday, April 27, 2023 - 2:49 PM

You shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves. I am the L-rd. Leviticus 19:28

Q: I have a tattoo, can I be buried in a Jewish cemetery?

A: In years past, some burial societies had their own covenants (not required by Jewish law) that they wouldn’t bury tattooed individuals in a Jewish cemetery.

Q: Aren’t you sanctioning bad behavior by not “punishing” them for violating Jewish law?

A: First of all, Judaism never hired me to do enforcement, I was hired to inspire. Second, Jewish tradition does not make us the judge of others. Most people, myself included, do things that they shouldn’t. None of us are perfect.

The perspective we need to have of others is a soul perspective. They are a piece of G-d. They are inherently good. We all are, at our essence, one and G-dly.

When one makes a mistake, we need to help them come back toward their soul identity.

When I break my diet, if I beat myself up and decide I am bad and “punish myself”, what would the result be? Would I keep it better or worse going forward?

If I “punish” the person with the tattoo and ostracize them, in life or in death, will they have a stronger relationship with G-d or not? Will they do more mitzvahs or fewer? Am I really sanctioning bad behavior by accepting that it was done?

Have a good Shabbos! Let our sole perspective of other people be looking at their soul.

May that perspective be as permanent as a tattoo.

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

The Secret of Shabbos Candles

Thursday, April 20, 2023 - 1:18 PM

Did you know the reason for the mitzvah of lighting Shabbos candles? It is written in the Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish Law) that the reason is to ensure that there is light in the house so people don't trip on a stick or stone. We may ask, am I exempt from lighting if there aren't any sticks or stones in my house? The answer, of course, is yes. There is another purpose Shabbos candles serve. This is to bring peace to the home. Light at times is very good, it allows us to see what is going on. At other times, light allows us to see some of the ugliness that is hiding under the surface. Since Shabbos candles are the light of a mitzvah, they automatically only reveal G-dly light.

In this week's Torah portion, we talk about the darkness of the metzorah. A metzorah creates fighting and discord through their gossip and talk about others. How long does he/she need to be in a house for the impurity to transfer to the home? As long as it takes to light Shabbos candles.

Why? Because the antidote to fighting is the light of the Shabbos candles.

What is the root cause of fighting? When we worship ourselves and see ourselves as greater than someone else. In order not to trip on our man-made idols (of sticks and stone), we need the light of a mitzvah to shine. Not just the spiritual light of any mitzvah, but the light of a mitzvah that has a physical shining in our physical world.

Light Shabbos candles this week by 7:31 pm (in Harford County) and you will add to the peace in our world.

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

P.S. At Harford Chabad we have a Shabbos candle reminder text service. To sign up, text the words Shabbos candles to 443-353-9718.

Are you going to show up in your pajamas?

Monday, April 10, 2023 - 9:18 PM

The parable is told about 2 brothers who got into an argument and stopped talking to each another.

Years passed and the older brother was marrying off his son. The younger brother was torn. Part of him wanted to attend the wedding, but after all these years? The wedding day arrived, and he decided to be “strong” and not go. To make sure he wouldn’t change his mind, he got into pajamas early that afternoon and climbed into bed. Evening came, and suddenly he heard live music right outside his bedroom window. His brother had brought the whole wedding band to his house, with instructions to play a beautiful tune from their father’s Shabbos table.

The younger brother tried to block his ears, but to no avail. The music entered his ears and his heart. Overcome with emotion, he went outside to embrace his brother with tears in his eyes. His older brother was overjoyed, but looked at him and said with a smile, “I’m so happy you came to the wedding, but why’d you come in pajamas?”

The last day of Pesach, the 8th day, is known for the custom that the Baal Shem Tov established to end Passover with a Moshiach meal. If you’d like to join us for our Moshiach meal, reply to let us know before 2PM tomorrow (Tuesday 4/11/2023).

This parable about the two brothers is often used to describe us. We get stuck in the world of exile. We "stop talking" about the messianic era, when we will all have one desire to have a true meaningful relationship with G-d. Sometimes we block our ears and put on our pajamas. But on the last day of Pesach, we can hear the music. We hear the song that our redemption from Egypt was a long time ago, but we are ready to sing again in the messianic era. We are on our way to the final redemption.

The only question we need to ask ourselves is, will we come dressed properly or will we be in our pajamas?

The choice is ours!

Happy last days of Passover.

Hope to see you (schedule below),

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

Freedom to choose

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - 11:52 AM

True Freedom

I just want to do whatever I want, is not freedom. It’s liberating to know you can make an impact, make a difference, and create change in the world around you, and in yourself.

On Passover the celebration of freedom is not simply commemorating the lack of oppression, the ability for frivolous self-indulgence, or getting rid of the yoke of responsibility.

In Egyptian society one was not allowed to dream of self-determination; everything was controlled by the Pharaohs. The freedom of Passover changed the way we think about ourselves. We have a choice to do the right thing, or the opposite. We can choose our future. We can celebrate our ability to be ourselves even when circumstances make it seem impossible. Why? Because we are free.

One of the responsibilities of the Jewish people was, and is, to impart this discovery to all of humanity. We must preserve the freedom and dignity of every individual under the sovereignty of a free G‑d. A G-d who desired free human beings who choose to construct a world founded on

1)      freedom,
2)      the dignity of the individual and
3)      the moral calling to build a fragment of heaven on planet earth.

Our freedom from the Egyptian bondage, forces us to see ourselves inherently as free. Our very being must cry out in protest against tyranny and cruelty and remain obsessed with the belief that the future must be different. Redemption is yet to come and that a society in which evil and corruption rules cannot endure.

Commemorating the liberation from Egypt reminds us of the awareness and yearning of freedom, and the conviction that freedom is the innate right of every human being.

Man yearns to reflect G‑d. Man, created in G‑d’s image, yearns to be utterly divine, hence utterly free. It is this G‑dliness inherent in a human being that drives us to constantly challenge and transcend the limits imposed on us, including even the limits of our own nature.

Have a good Shabbos,

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman